HAD
by Lea Cat
Summary: One teenage wizard. One criminal genius. One vampire prince. An alliance that will shake the world. 'Congratulations, you've been H.A.D.' Crossover between Harry Potter, Artemis Fowl, and the Saga of Darren Shan.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello. This story was inspired by a picture the wonderful artist/writer Lizeth drew. If you wish to see, I am putting a link up in my profile. I'm telling you, her picture plants horrible ideas in your head. This has been eating at me forever. Thank my beta Juliette Fox. If not for her, this wouldn't be readable.**

**This story takes place after the fourth book in the Artemis Fowl series, after the fifth book in the Harry Potter series, and after Darren becomes a vampire prince (whenver that is, because I have the worst memory and can't remember).**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Saga of Darren Shan, Harry Potter, or Artemis Fowl.**

* * *

**H.A.D.  
by Lea Cat  
8/23/08**

* * *

Harry Potter, Boy-Who-Lived, Savior of the Wizarding World, and rival to the Dark Lord Voldemort (a.k.a. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named), was not having a very good day. Then again, he just didn't have a very good life for that matter.

"Stupid Dursleys," he muttered under his breath, stabbing his hand shovel into the dirt he was picking weeds out of. He sat back with a sigh and brushed his hand across his forehead, unintentionally leaving a streak of dirt behind. "I bloody hate them." He glanced about, finding no weeds to remove and abolish, and abandoned his post in the dirt.

Harry paused for a moment and mentally ran over his list of chores, checking things off one by one as he recalled doing them over the course of the day. It was late afternoon by now and he'd been working since early in the morning. He didn't even get breakfast or lunch. He could hear his aunt in the kitchen, dishes clinking about as she organized things. She wouldn't come looking for him until dinner and Harry couldn't help but harbor thoughts of wandering off. Then again, why couldn't he?

He checked his surroundings cautiously as he left for the park; even though he'd completed all his chores, he highly doubted he was supposed to go out. Well, they couldn't keep him in that house all summer, Harry thought grimly. He smiled, his lips curving harshly. He would have his freedom.

* * *

"Butler, let's go for a walk." Artemis Fowl, child genius and criminal mastermind (although that had recently changed), was bored. He was bored enough, in fact, that he was willing to take a walk. Besides, the walk had more then one purpose.

Artemis didn't wait for his bodyguard and friend to respond before taking off. Butler had no problem keeping up with him, even though he was slower and stiffer than before. This bothered Artemis more than he cared to admit. With all the danger he'd gotten into recently, he felt it imperative to get in shape. It would be beneficial to staying alive.

Artemis took a long, roundabout path to his destination, his walk taking him through a small suburb rather than the shorter yet busier main streets. He took a random turn, uncertain why he did so. His feet were guiding him and he almost stopped before realizing that his intuition was trying to tell him something. There was something important here, he could sense it.

He heard the laughter before he saw the source. A small park with children scattered across the equipment rested across the street from him. He hesitantly crossed the street to get closer, the gut feeling growing stronger. His icy blue eyes flickered from child to child as they ran about playing tag, trying to identify the source of his curiosity.

There! One boy sat alone on the swings, unmoving and silent, a complete contrast of everyone else. He looked a bit younger than Artemis but had the same mature air that spoke of weary experience. The lone boy had messy black hair (which prompted Artemis to check the status of his own black hair) and Artemis couldn't help but wonder what kind of eyes this not-quite-adult-nor-child had.

As if the unknown boy could sense his thoughts, he looked up to meet Artemis's eyes with tired emerald green eyes. Those eyes widened when they met his (in recognition or surprise?) and Artemis found that he was feeling a strange sense of camaraderie.

"Artemis?"

Instantly the trance was broken and all of his attention shifted to the uneasy man beside him. "Yes, what is it Butler?"

"Where are we headed?" The large man asked. _Why are we here?_ His eyes added.

Artemis ignored the unspoken question, deciding it was something he wouldn't share. "I heard that there's a nice coffee shop down the street," he said. "I was hoping they'd have tea."

* * *

Darren Shan, half vampire and currently the youngest Vampire Prince sat down in a soft plush chair with a sigh. After being crowned as a prince, he had wanted to see more of the world. Thankfully, Mr. Crepsley thought that would be for the best too. So their travels had eventually taken them to London, where he was finding things very interesting. Finding people to take blood from wasn't difficult either; the ally ways were prime spots to pick people.

He sighed, unhappy with the way his thoughts were leaning. It seemed that his thoughts had begun to revolve around vampires. Darren wanted to cut loose, have fun, and enjoy himself. He'd been a Vampire Prince for 6 years and a half vampire for 14 years. He thought he deserved a bit of fun, which was why he kept slipping away from Mr. Crepsley. The older vampire always lectured him afterwards though. It was beginning to get repetitive.

Yes, he should be responsible. Yes, he was aware there was a conflict occurring. It was duly noted (even if he really didn't feel like caring at the moment). No, he wasn't trying to leave Mr. Crepsley behind—okay, maybe a little. But could anyone blame him? Fortunately, Mr. Crepsley couldn't follow him into the sun.

Darren was glad he was only a half vampire. He enjoyed walking among normal people, being no different from any other person in the crowd. He liked the sun and he'd be sad when he had to give that up too.

Darren pulled himself back to the present when he heard a waitress ask for his order. "You do serve tea, right?" he asked with a slight tilt to his head.

The waitress bobbed her head up and down, brown hair flopping. "Yes sir, we have tea! Would you like some?"

"Yes, please," he smiled at her eagerness.

"Yes sir! Tea coming right up! Ernie, we have a tea here!"

"Alright!" a bellow came from the backroom.

"It'll be ready soon," the waitress chirped to Darren, "I'll bring it here, okay?" Without waiting for a reply, she bounced off to get someone else's order.

Darren sighed and glanced about as he wasted time. There weren't that many people, but they had all ordered around the same time, so it was no wonder the serving area was clogged.

His eye was drawn to a table in the back corner of the room, where a mountain of a man and a slim teen sat. They were an unlikely pair. Then again, Vancha looked stranger. It was clear that the boy was the leader there as he was doing most of the talking.

Or maybe Darren was getting paranoid.

The boy looked up and met his eyes with an intense stare. Darren swallowed hard. No, he wasn't being paranoid.

They shared a look for what felt like an eternity before the large man interrupted.

Darren watched the man and boy converse quickly before leaving. He had a feeling that he'd see them again soon.

"Your tea, sir," The waitress set the cup down in front of him. "Are you sure you don't want anything else?"

"Yeah, I'm sure." He said, picking the cup up and taking a sip absentmindedly. He stared out the window, watching the strange teen disappear into the crowd with his companion. He had only taken a few sips of his tea before he decided he didn't want it anymore. He left the money for the tea along with a tip for the waitress next to the abandoned cup, getting up to leave the quaint shop behind.

He would be keeping the strange boy in mind—he had been spending too much time with Evanna to believe in anything but destiny and this screamed of being preordained.

* * *

Artemis glanced about as he walked down the street with Butler at his side. Even as his complex mind worked at a painting he could steal, his mind settled on the boy he had seen in the coffee shop. The teen had dark hair and dark eyes—it was difficult to tell if his hair was black or simply dark brown, so Artemis settled for dark—and had a look of wisdom beyond his years.

The boy at the park had had the same look, Artemis recalled thoughtfully.

He heard sirens further down the street and saw people scurrying that way to see what had happened. He noticed Butler had paused to see what Artemis had to say. "I believe I will see what has happened before spending the rest of the day at the art museum." He concluded out loud. Butler did nothing more than nod, which was expected, before following Artemis towards the crime scene.

* * *

Harry had ventured onto the main streets shortly after the stranger with mature eyes came along. He had been antsy ever since the other boy had looked at him and had gone to the streets in an attempt to burn off his nervous energy.

It was closer to sunset now and he realized he needed to head back before the Dursleys missed him. He rerouted his path so that he would make a rather large U-turn and continued walking. London was full of alleys that Death Eaters could spring out of, so he paid special attention to the dark paths.

If he hadn't been paying attention, he would have missed the boy slipping out of an alley and walking along the same path he was. It was awfully suspicious and he stared at the back of the stranger for several moments.

Apparently, he had been staring too intently because the stranger looked back at him. He caught a glimpse of dark eyes and pearly white teeth before he averted his eyes.

Harry carefully kept his eyes away from the boy for a block or two before he finally got the courage to look back again. To his surprise, the other boy had disappeared as thoroughly as if he was never there. He took the time to glance about a bit before shrugging and continuing on. It wasn't as if he hadn't seen stranger things happen.

His monotonous walk was interrupted by the sound of sirens and his gaze landed on a crowd before him. It wasn't difficult at all to slip to the front of the crowd and he saw a glimpse of a body being carted into an ambulance. Police were busy drilling into witnesses and Harry was careful to avoid them. He wasn't a witness and he didn't want to be pegged as one.

He looked over the scene carefully before coming to the conclusion that it was a mugging. Harry glanced up for a second and did a double take. The boy with mature eyes was at the other end of the crime scene watching him with such a severe stare that Harry briefly thought that he might have had something to do with the mugging.

That thought was immediately dismissed. He didn't know why but he knew without a doubt that this type of thing wasn't what the boy would do. If the boy were to do something, Harry decided, it would probably be more refined and untraceable. The unknown certainly had the air of someone who would never be caught.

Harry gave the other one more uncertain glance before turning to disappear in the crowd.

* * *

Darren wasn't having any luck at all with his 'hunting'.

He had a syringe on him because he had wanted to try hunting without Mr. Crepsley's help. Unfortunately, that left him with a considerably lower amount of people he could take blood from. He needed to find someone willing to give him blood or so out of it that they didn't notice him taking blood.

He prowled about the alleyways anxiously, wanting to get blood and get back to the hotel before Mr. Crepsley woke up. He could always knock someone out physically but he also realized how messy that might get if he misjudged his strength.

He realized he was gnawing on his nails and hastily stopped. He might need his stronger than average nails for something else tonight. He entered a small suburb and glanced about for small children. They were easy to knock out and (as guilty as it made him feel) they had fairly sweet blood. If he played his cards right, he could even get them to willingly give him blood!

Movement in the corner of his eye caught his attention and he swiveled his head about to look. It was that boy from before, the one with bright green eyes who kept staring at him. Darren entertained the thought of taking his blood for a moment before discarding it. He had the feeling that boy was important and he'd respect that by leaving him alone.

On the other hand, it still might be fun to stalk him.

It took him a block or two to realize that he wasn't the only one with the idea of haunting the poor boy. The other one, the mature guy with the large body guard, seemed to have got it in his head to follow his green eyed victim. Darren regarded the other hunter curiously before dismissing him as another part of his stalking game. If he could avoid letting both boys know he was there, then he'd reward himself with another hour of free time.

Mr. Crepsley wouldn't be very happy, but Mr. Crepsley wasn't happy anyway and a little more unhappiness wasn't going to make the lecture worse.

* * *

Artemis noted the boy's address down in his head and firmly fixed the location in his mind before turning to leave. He mentally reminded himself to come back tomorrow and headed for the art museum. He would have a better idea of what kind of art he needed to steal if he knew what kind of art the museum didn't have.

He was out of breath by the time he got to his destination, which slightly annoyed him, and motioned for Butler to slow his pace. There was no admission price, so they simply walked in and wandered the halls.

They had just reached the hall of the supernatural when Artemis bumped into someone. He was startled, understandably so, because it had been quite a while since he had last been caught off guard.

"Pardon me—" he began.

"Oh, sorry—" the other person started at the same time.

There was a brief and momentary pause as both examined each other before jumping back and screeching, or exclaiming in Artemis' case, at the same time, "You!"

"Why do I keep seeing you everywhere?" the dark haired teen from the coffee shop moaned.

"You've only seen me twice," Artemis corrected him stiffly. "This would be the second time."

"It doesn't matter," it was clear the other boy was whining at this point. "All I wanna do is relax and then you pop up and BAM! I can't stop thinking about how weird you were."

Artemis' eyebrow rose on its own. "I think the strange one would be you."

The teen grumbled for a bit before sticking his hand out. "Darren Shan," he said bluntly.

Artemis took his hand and shook it. "Artemis Fowl," he returned. He gestured to the silent and nearly forgotten Butler. "This is Butler."

Darren eyed Butler warily before turning back to Artemis. "So, I couldn't help but notice you following that other guy."

"What?" Artemis was surprised once again. He knew who Darren was talking about, but how had he not noticed Darren?

"Mmhm. I was playing the stalking game. Pick a person and stalk them. I just so happened to be stalking the same person you were." Darren gave him a toothy grin.

"I was curious," Artemis sniffed, feeling as if he needed to justify himself somehow.

"He _is_ curious, isn't he? I mean, he gives me the same sort of feeling you do and that's saying something." Darren glanced down at his watch quickly before suddenly groaning. "Ah, hell, I need to get back. I get the feeling I'll see you later," Darren pointed at Artemis, "So don't forget me!" With that said, he ran off without letting Artemis get a word in.

Artemis and Butler stared after Darren for a short period of time after he had disappeared from sight. Butler turned to his charge and said, "Artemis?"

"Yes, Butler?"

"Why do you insist on meeting the strangest people?"

Artemis huffed. "He's not nearly as strange as Holly." And it was true; Darren Shan most definitely seemed more normal than former captain Holly Short.

"So you're going to that other boy's house tomorrow?" Butler asked. It hid another question, Artemis realized.

"I don't know why," he told Butler truthfully, "But I feel as if it is necessary for me to meet that boy." Butler had nothing to say to that and simply followed Artemis as they continued their tour of the art museum.

_This can't end well,_ Butler thought ruefully.


	2. Chapter 2

**I apologize for the delay. There seemed to be something of a communication block between my editor and I. Everything I said to her went in one ear and out the other. And now, a message from the editor:**

"**I'm really sorry to all you fans out there who had to wait so long for this chapter! I've been so busy lately that I couldn't get to it right away and then I forgot about it! Just so you know Lea had this ready for me a few days after she put up the first chapter, it's my fault this wasn't up a while ago. Once again I'm really sorry but next time I'll make sure to get to it sooner and have it ready right away.**

**Juliette Fox"**

**I would also like to take the time to remind you all that this story is based off a picture drawn by Lizeth. I highly recommend you check her out.**

* * *

**H.A.D.  
By Lea Cat  
10/3/08**

* * *

Artemis was rearing to go at sunrise. He paced the fancy hotel room he and Butler occupied restlessly. He took care to be silent as he paced; ever since Holly had pulled Butler from death, the mountain of a man had had more trouble with movement. He sorely needed the extra bit of sleep Artemis was providing him with.

At ten sharp, Artemis had his first cup of tea. It was how he started every morning and the clink of china sent wake up signals to Butler's brain. "Good morning, Butler," Artemis greeted his bodyguard and friend calmly, showing none of the anxious anticipation he was harboring. "We'll be leaving shortly after breakfast."

Butler only grunted in response, getting up to cook and serve breakfast. It wasn't as if Artemis would do it.

"Let's go out to eat," Artemis suggested before Butler could pull out the necessary tools. "Perhaps we could go somewhere casual. I don't feel like being refined today." Butler gave him a searching look. What exactly was Artemis's idea of being unrefined?

Butler soon found out at a diner down the street. It served burgers. The large man stared down at his large sandwich and couldn't help but ask "This is your idea of unrefined?" The restaurant still had waiters and the place was immaculately clean.

"They serve hamburgers," Artemis replied, as if the answer was supposed to be obvious. Butler sighed but didn't try to argue. Artemis was far too sophisticated to understand how low class 'unrefined' was supposed to be.

* * *

Darren stretched languidly on his bed as he tried to figure out what he wanted to do that day. Mr. Crepsley had given him a lecture upon his return to the hotel and then grudgingly allowed him to do as he pleased after finding out that Darren had fed on his own. To Darren, that meant sleep.

Because he took the time to mingle with humans during the day, and took lessons with Mr. Crepsley at night, he didn't get much sleep. So he slept whenever he got the chance.

He was just about to roll over and go back to sleep when he remembered Artemis.

Darren flung himself off the bed hastily, grabbing a pair of jeans and a tee shirt which he hastily tugged on. He just _knew_ Artemis was going to confront the other boy of destiny today. He could feel it.

Artemis was special in a different way. He was going to change everything. The other boy would change things too. If they worked together…

Darren was very, very excited. He just had to be there. He wanted to help them create change. He wanted to make sure the change wasn't bad.

Today he had a date with destiny and he wasn't going to miss it for the world.

* * *

Something was going to happen today.

The air sang of it and Harry could barely keep focused on his work with all the excitement floating about. He vaguely wondered where it came from. He wasn't excited and neither were the Dursleys.

"Boy, take care of the garden!" Petunia shrieked at him. Harry almost reflexively ducked but managed to curb the instinct. Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon hadn't hit him once yet this summer and all of Harry's senses were on the alert.

"Yes, Aunt Petunia," he said, trying to hide the growing anger he could feel building up inside of him. Why should he have to suffer through this? Why him? He opened the front door and stepped into the rather humid outdoors.

Taking a deep breath to try and calm himself, he allowed his thoughts to wander. When they wandered straight to Sirius something snapped, and Harry growled and sat down where he stood.

"I am sick of this," he snarled, putting his head in his hands. "I am sick of not knowing, I am sick of Dumbledore telling what I can and can't do and, most of all, I am SICK of my LIFE!" His head jerked up when he sensed the presence of another before him and stared blankly when he recognized the mature stranger from the day before.

"Pray tell, what exactly are you sick of?"

* * *

"—most of all, I am SICK of my LIFE!"

Artemis stared at the angry boy for a moment before warily approaching. He watched as the boy reacted to his presence with a speed that came from experience. "Pray tell, what exactly are you sick of?" He asked curiously.

The other rolled bright emerald green eyes. "Everything," he sighed. "I'm sick of everything."

"But _why_," Artemis prodded him, "What would make you so sick of everything?"

"I," Artemis watched in satisfaction as the other began to think. "I guess I want control over my own life."

"And you think you don't have it now," Artemis commented dryly. He held his hand out. "My name is Artemis Fowl."

"I'm Harry Potter," the other replied, grabbing his hand and shaking it. Harry seemed to wait for a moment to see his reaction before sighing in relief. "You're a muggle then."

Artemis couldn't resist raising an eyebrow. "Muggle?" he asked, the term unfamiliar to him. That almost never happened. It made him curious.

"Yeah," Harry said. "You don't have magic, so you're a muggle." He blinked before realizing he had just broken a Wizarding law. For some reason though, it felt _right_ to tell Artemis about magic.

Artemis seated himself next to Harry, keeping eye contact the entire time. "How intriguing," he said. "Tell me more."

Harry gave him a strange, searching look before spilling everything.

* * *

Darren almost fell off the roof.

He was surprised that Harry and Artemis hadn't noticed him. It wasn't like he was trying to hide. He was also surprised that Harry was spilling his life's story to a complete and total stranger. Perhaps he felt their connection too.

As he listened to Harry's story of wizards and witches and a dark lord, he sorted his head out. Harry's story was outlandish, ridiculous, and sounded like something out of a children's book.

It also made a lot of sense.

Darren began to sympathize with Harry. To be thrust into such a large role at such a young age… Darren wanted to help Harry. He had the feeling he was supposed to. He wasn't sure what Artemis would do. Artemis seemed like the cold, calculating type, who wouldn't do anything to help anyone without payment.

So when Artemis said he had a proposal for Harry, Darren was shocked. This time he actually fell off the roof.

* * *

Harry yelped loudly when something heavy landed on him. He was so startled by Artemis's offer that he was completely unprepared for anything else to happen. Artemis didn't seem startled at all.

"Hello Darren, I was expecting you. I must say, you have the most interesting ways of making yourself known." Artemis tilted his head slightly at whoever was on top of Harry.

'Darren' scrambled off Harry hastily and Harry looked to find it was the other boy from the day before. "You and Harry aren't doing anything without me," Darren protested.

"I never said we were going to do anything without you," Artemis shrugged. "I simply said that I had a proposal."

Darren seemed put out for a moment before turning to Harry. "Uh, sorry I fell on you."

Harry rubbed the back of his neck agitatedly. "It's okay…I think. So Artemis, what was that about a proposal?"

Artemis's smile was smug and predatory, causing both Harry and Darren to shiver. "I believe you have skills that can help me. And I get the feeling you are more than what you seem," That last bit was aimed at Darren.

Darren blinked innocently, which might have fooled anyone other than Artemis. "More than what I seem?" he asked, amused. "You _are_ strange. Alright, let's hear your idea."

"Wait, wait, wait," Harry held his hands out in the universal sign for time out. "You say you need my skills, but I can't use any of them because the Ministry has age restriction charms on my wand." Then something occurred to him. "Hey, what happened to whoever it is that was watching me?" The Order would never allow him to tell a muggle about wizards, let alone letting muggles walk up to him at all.

Artemis waved a hand. "Do you mean the man that was invisible? Butler took care of him."

"So that's why Butler isn't here," Darren mused.

"Nevertheless," Artemis continued. "Don't worry about your wand. I'll take care of it. We shouldn't speak of this here. If we could meet elsewhere…?"

"What about the coffeehouse?" Darren suggested.

"There's a neglected mansion a few blocks away," Harry said, hesitantly biting his lip. "Maybe we could meet there."

"Excellent idea, Harry," Artemis said, ignoring Darren. Darren began to sulk. "I trust that you both can find your way there at 7 o'clock tomorrow evening." Artemis stood, brushing imaginary dust off his suit. "Good day, gentlemen."

And without looking back, he left them behind.

* * *

Darren sputtered for a moment before turning to Harry. "Ah, I'm sorry, I never really introduced myself. I'm Darren Shan. You're Harry Potter." He held his hand out and Harry shook it with a dazed look on his face.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm Harry."

"So, about that mansion," Darren drawled, glancing about, "Which way is it?"

Harry silently pointed west. Darren briefly looked in that direction before glancing back at Harry. "Do you think he's serious?" Harry asked Darren nervously.

"Yeah, I think he's serious. Artemis doesn't really seem to have a sense of humor. Don't worry though; I think he's actually a nice guy under all that icy aloofness." Darren blinked when Harry chuckled.

And then Harry just had to ask "How did you get on top of the roof?"

Darren hurriedly stammered out something about trees and climbing before running off. He really didn't feel like telling Harry that he was a half vampire. Even with Harry being a wizard, he didn't know how the other boy would take it.

* * *

Harry found himself anxious by the time it was six. He couldn't eat any of the food the Dursleys allowed him to eat. Which was saying something, seeing as he hadn't had lunch.

He muttered an excuse before leaving the house at a quarter to seven. As he slowly walked to the mansion, he wondered what he should do about his tail. Obviously, he couldn't just lead them to the meeting place. He mused over several options as he began to approach the old mansion.

In the end, his problem was once again solved by Artemis. There was a thud as his tail was knocked out. "Hello, Harry. I suppose you haven't met Butler yet." Harry eyed the large man and wondered if he was related to Hagrid.

When Butler did nothing more than nod at him, he relaxed slightly. Artemis motioned for Harry to walk with him the rest of the way and Harry paced himself so that he walked beside the other. He waited until there were almost at the mansion before springing his question. "So, you said you could do something about my wand." He reminded Artemis.

Artemis smirked at him. "I did say that, did I not? Give me your wand."

"How do I know you'll give it back?" Harry asked suspiciously. Even so, he fingered his wand, ready to hand it over.

"How did you know coming here was the right thing?" Artemis countered immediately.

There was a moment of silence before it was broken by laughter. "Well said, Artemis!" Darren applauded high up from a nearby tree.

"Are you some sort of cat?" Harry demanded to know. "You're always up in high places!" He absentmindedly handed his wand over to Artemis who instantly began tinkering with it.

"I am more closely related to wolves," Darren told him very seriously. Harry wasn't sure whether he was joking or not.

"Here you are," Artemis handed Harry's wand back to him. "Cast a spell for me."

Harry hesitated. If he used magic and the Ministry found out, he'd be expelled for certain. He'd already used up his one warning. What if Artemis was really a Death Eater in disguise? What if his plan was to get Harry away from Hogwarts so that he was more vulnerable to attacks from Voldemort? What if—

"You're being overly paranoid," Darren's voice interrupted his train of thought. "Just wave the bloody wand. Since Artemis wants our help, I doubt he'd get you in trouble."

Harry took a deep breath and said "_Lumos._" When his wand lit up and nothing else happened, he let out a sigh of relief. He looked at Artemis curiously. "How did you remove the tracking spell?"

"After you so kindly informed me about the existence of a Wizarding society, it was child's play to find more information on it. I took the liberty of making an expedition into Diagon Ally and did a bit of investigating on the Ministry tracking spells and wands. I found that the Ministry tracking spells are cast on the wands after they are completed and the only way to remove them is for the wand to either be destroyed or for the user of the wand to actually be of age. Since the spell was cast after the wand is finished, I concluded that if I dismantled the wand and put it back together, the spell would classify it as 'destroyed' and would dissipate, leaving you with a functioning wand with no restrictions on its usage." Artemis smirked at the blank looks on Darren and Harry's faces.

Darren recovered first. "Could you, I dunno, rephrase that so that's its one sentence or shorter?"

Harry's silence on the other hand was because he was attempting to actually break down and absorb the speech. "So, in other words, all you really needed to do was take the wand apart. Doesn't the Ministry note that sort of stuff though?"

"Apparently not," Artemis shrugged. "I checked the records and noted that the Ministry doesn't keep track of stolen or destroyed wands. The only time they are alerted is if an underage spell is used."

"Wow, you really think things through." Darren muttered mostly to himself but loud enough for the others to hear as well.

"Could you come down from there?" Harry asked. "My neck is beginning to ache."

"Oh, yeah, sure," Darren hopped down from the tree and Harry flinched. He should have at least been a little injured in a fall that high, Harry thought. Artemis was correct in concluding that there was more to Darren than the joker face he put up. A glance at the genius in the group revealed that he had also noticed Darren's stunt.

To his surprise, Artemis completely disregarded Darren and focused his attention on Harry. "Harry, I want you to swear a wizard's oath that you will not reveal any part of my proposal." Artemis said.

"What about Darren?" he asked, his mind running over the reasons why Artemis might want him to swear an oath. Wizard oaths were serious things, he couldn't just use one any time he pleased.

"He already swore a different type of oath to me." Artemis lied. Darren gave him a funny look but one glance from Artemis had him nodding in agreement. Harry was so deep in his thoughts, he didn't even notice.

Harry dwelled on it for a moment before deciding that it couldn't really be that bad. "I swear on my magic that I will not reveal any part of your proposal." He swore, holding his wand up. His magic flared briefly in acknowledgement of the oath.

Artemis's smirk became an all out predatory grin and Harry suddenly felt as if he had made a deal with the devil.


End file.
